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There have been many speculations about whether GTA 6's story will feature multiple endings or not. Since Grand Theft Auto 4, Rockstar has almost made it a tradition to feature multiple endings in their games, but this is not always as impactful.
Many issues can arise if the next game is non-linear, such as the endings being too sour, or not being good in general. In light of that, we've picked some of the biggest reasons why Grand Theft Auto 6 shouldn't feature multiple endings.
Note: This article is subjective and only reflects the writer’s opinions.
Why GTA 6's story doesn't need multiple endings
1) They should focus more on emergent gameplay
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Rockstar Games titles have been getting increasingly immersive lately, starting with Grand Theft Auto 4. It's quite obvious that the developers put in a lot of effort to make their game worlds feel lifelike and lived-in. However, when the missions are made too linear, this whole thing falls apart.
GTA 5 has multiple endings, and it also has different approaches in some of the heist missions. However, most of the missions feel quite linear, and the usual formula of the protagonist being an errand boy hasn't changed much throughout the years. This shouldn't be the case with GTA 6's story, and Rockstar should focus more on making its missions more open-ended than focusing on multiple endings.
2) They're usually not that good
Rockstar Games have tried multiple endings in their last few games, like Grand Theft Auto 4 and 5, as well as Red Dead Redemption 2. However, while the idea of non-linear endings seems quite engaging, Rockstar's execution falls short of this idea. Their endings are usually quite black and white, with players simply looking to get "the good ending" instead of the bad one.
This can't be compared to a truly non-linear experience like in Bioware's RPGs (Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and KOTOR series), where your choices lead you to a unique, personalized ending. As such, GTA 6's story shouldn't have multiple endings if it's going to resort to the same good and bad endings.
3) May leave players with a sour taste
As mentioned previously, most Rockstar Games titles with multiple endings simply feature a "good" ending or a "bad" one. If you unwittingly get one of the bad endings, the entire experience of the game will feel quite disappointing, such as when a major character is killed off. In both endings to RDR2, the protagonist Arthur Morgan eventually dies, but one of these is cathartic whereas the other feels depressing.
GTA 4's endings are probably the most notorious, as no matter what you do, one of your loved ones ends up dying. If Jason or Lucia ended up dying in one of the endings in the next game, it would probably disappoint a lot of fans, which is why GTA 6's story should avoid having multiple endings.
4) Multiple endings will affect the impact of the finale
Most games try to make their final missions as memorable as possible. If the ending is bad, the game may leave a sour taste, as mentioned before. Similarly, if there are too many endings, players may be preoccupied with thinking about the type of ending they're going to get and completely miss out on the excitement of playing the final mission itself.
It also takes away from the roleplaying aspect of the game, where you just choose what you feel like you should do and get a related ending. Instead, you'll be more busy trying to get that perfect ending by taking a particular set of actions. This is why GTA 6 should avoid having many endings.
5) Discrepancies with online mode
If GTA 6 has an online mode, it will undoubtedly be related to GTA 6's story, and with different endings, it gets a little confusing. First of all, there has to be a canon ending to the game, which again, reinforces the idea of a good vs bad ending. Apart from one particular climax, the other ones are going to be sidelined, which would make them less desirable.
If they choose to go with a more open-ended explanation, like Bethesda does with their Elder Scrolls and Fallout titles, it wouldn't work. This is because these games are set in timelines that are many years apart from each other, so the history gets muddied, whereas Grand Theft Auto games are set in the present.
